Cody Vai
New Zealand rugby union player
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Codemeru ”Cody” Nanai Vai (born 25 February 2004) is a New Zealand professional rugby union player who plays as a wing for Super Rugby side Blues. He previously played for National Provincial Championship clubs Bay of Plenty and Auckland. He is a New Zealand sevens international.
| Full name | Codemeru Nanai Vai | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 25 February 2004[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) [2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 86 kg (190 lb; 13 st 8 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | De La Salle College, Auckland St Peter's College, Cambridge | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative | Melani Nanai (brother) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Early and personal life
His father Kitiona Nanai Vai was a Western Samoa international who played in their 1991 Rugby Union World Cup team. He is the younger brother of rugby players Melani Nanai and Kitiona Vai. His sister Corina Nanai-Vai is also a rugby player and played in the Farah Palmer Cup for the Auckland Storm. He attended De La Salle College, Auckland. He also attended St Peter's School, Cambridge on a scholarship.[3][4]
Career
He plays for Bay of Plenty as a winger and also played for the Chiefs U20 side.[5] Vai joined the New Zealand national rugby sevens team as injury cover in 2023 and scored a try on debut.[6] He played as they won the Hong Kong Sevens title in 2023, scoring a try after just 25 seconds in the final against Fiji.[7][8]
He was a member of the New Zealand Sevens team that retained the Hong Kong title in 2024, scoring a try in the final as they beat France 10-7.[9] He continued to play for New Zealand in the 2024-25 SVNS series.[10] He made his debut for Auckland in the National Provincial Championship in July 2025.[11]
Ahead of the 2026 season, Vai left the New Zealand Rugby Sevens programme and signed for Super Rugby side Blues.[12] On his first start for the Blues in March 2026, he scored an acrobatic try from a cross-field kick from Beauden Barrett.[13]